Poom, Raimo

2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

Eesti Päevaleht - Estonia | 02/01/2014

Euro frustration could hurt Latvian government

Latvia joined the Eurozone at the beginning of the new year. The Latvians have been less than enthusiastic about the switch to the new currency, the online portal Delfi comments: "Unfortunately the Latvians fear price hikes, and the government seems to be well aware of that. In fact there are several good reasons why prices will go up in Latvia. ... But what happens if the euro is not accepted in the long term? It is rather unlikely that the lats will come back, and the government crisis continues in Latvia. Whoever takes over from former prime minister Dombrovskis [who resigned at the end of November], will have a tough nut to crack. And the introduction of the euro could even undeservedly harm the popularity of the current right-wing government."

France's lonely EU presidency

The daily Eesti päevaleht criticises French President Nicolas Sarkozy for using his EU presidency to further above all his own interests, for example in the area of agricultural policy: "France is itself one of the main recipients of farming subsidies and therefore unwilling to liberalise agricultural policy. Although the EU president is basically supposed to act as a neutral mediator in all issues and seek compromises, the Paris authorities have broken with this course. But why? Normally an EU Council President seeks allies to support his stance and represent him to the rest of the world. But now it is becoming clear that France quite simply has no allies in a position or willing to show understanding for its viewpoint. And what does such a lonely president mean for Estonia, which has always defended liberalisation and the market economy? Particularly on the issues of energy and climate policy, a wayward France could unexpectedly turn into an ally."